Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-05-05
SOLID DEMOCRATS
MEET IN CONVENTION IN KRNTUCKI-A
SHARPLY DEFINED PLATFORM
Adopted - President Cleveland Endorsed Doubts
About Civil Ssrviee-0PpOsition 10 SunPnary
Legislation-Sympathy With Ireland
The Present War Tariff Denounced.

LOUISVILLE, May 4.-The Democratic
Convention to nominate ticket for State
offices was called to order i'll Liederkranz
Hall, in this city, at noon to-day, by Col.
J.. Stoddard Johnston, chairman of the
State Central Committee.
Senator Sam f. Hill, of Hartford, was
elected temporary chairman. Then followed
the appointment of the usual committees
on credentials, permanent organization and
resolutions.
The Hon. Jas Mckenzie introduced q
resolution heartily endorsing the admins
ton of President Cleveland and moved its
adoption without waiting the completion
of permanent organization or the formal
ity of reference to the common resOlu-
tions. Mckenzie was cheered as he read
his resolution, but Congressman Pres
Taulbree sprang to his feet and moved that
McKenzie's motion be laid on the table,
declaring its adoption would commit the
Democracy of Kentucky to policies To
which it was known to be an:agOnistic,
such as the civil service, and said he was
for any resolution endorsing President
Cleveland's honesty and integrity of pur-
pose. Cheers. After withdrawing his
motion to lay upon the table, his motion
that the resolution he referred to the Com
mittee on Resolutions, was passed. Chair
man Hill afterward decided McKenZie's
motion out of order. The convention then
proceeded to a permanent organization.
THE PLATFORM
was written and drawn up by Hons. John
G.. Carlisle and Henry WattersOn. That
part which is of national interest, and
which was adopted is rs follows:
We declare our confidence in the integ-
rity and conscientious devotion to duty,
of President Grover Cleveland, and con-
gratulate the country, and the party upon
the accession of DemOcIatic admlnistra-
tiOn, national, economic and clean; and
we particularly applaud the President
for the tiudliiy and courage with
which he has protected the
treasury from pillage by his exercise of
veto power. We favor honest civil ser
vice reform, by which we mean the ell
fOrcement of the faithful performance by
persons appointed 10 office, of all public
duties entrusted to them, and to this end,
rs well as to the maintenance of the spirit
of our representative form Of government,
we demand the Strictest measure OF per-
sonal and party responsibility, and are OPP
posed to the substitution of life tenure,
civil pension list and all other appendageS
of bureaucratic system foreign to the
genius of our institutions and people.
We declare the honest money OF the con-
stitutiOn good enough for the people, as
expressed in gold and silver and paper
convertible into coin on demand; and are
OPPOSED To ALL sUMPTUARY LAWS.
We contend that there are already on our
statute books sufficient general laws hav-
ing local application to protect the pub
lie morals without infringing upon private
rights.
We sympathize most earnestly with the
people of Ireland in their struggle for local
self government, and we unite with the
friends of liberal progress in all parts Of
the world i'll denOuncing the COercive
measures now pending in the British Par
Lament rs u mOnStrOuS crime against
a brave, generous, and long suffering
people, an obstruction to human freedom,
abhorrent to the spirit of liberty in every
land.
We view with alarm the growing ten
dency among certain classes OF citizens TO
seek the aid and bounty of the general
government. and as IN incident OF this
tendency to enlarge the powers granted
and to multiply powers never granted by
the constitution, aud we reaSSure the
time-hOnored Democratic doctrine that all
powers not delegated to the United States
are reserved to the States, respectively, or
to the people.
We
DENOUNCE THE PRESENT WAR TARIFF
laid to confuse as well as to harass the
people, as masterpiece of injustice, ine-
quality and false pretenSe. 1t has been
maintained by a selfish and false theory of
protection, which rObs the many to enrich
few. 1t has piled up in the national
treasury II surplus which menaces the
prosperity of all classes and every industry.
We demand an immediate reduction of
this war tariff, not merely as an
act Of redress to the people promised,
by all parties, but as the only safe and just
method of reducing the surplus; and in
making such reduction we demand further
that the taxes shall he abolished or low
cred upon the necessities of life, and final
ly, We re-aSSert the constitutional and
democratic doctrine that taxes should be
levied exclusively for public purposes and
limited to the requirements of the govern
ment economically administered.